PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A 16-year-old atheist said Thursday she is confident the law is on her side in her fight over a prayer mural that she wants removed from the auditorium of her high school.

Jessica Ahlquist said her side is “very strong” after attorneys for her and the city of Cranston made their case to Senior Judge Ronald R. Lagueux in U.S. District Court in Providence. Ahlquist believes the mural should be taken down.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West.

Ahlquist sued in federal court in April, saying the mural is offensive to non-Christians. Ahlquist has been an atheist since age 10. She is represented by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Talk by Jessica at the Secular Students Alliance Annual Leadership conference in 2011 (“Fighting Religion In Public Schools : Jessica Ahlquist”):